The Support template supports a typical Support
environment in which issues or requests are reported by
customers or end users and the Support team resolves the issues or
processes requests. This template incorporates 2 levels of Support:

1st Line Support attempts to process all incoming
records

2nd Line Support processes any escalated records that could not
be processed by 1st Line Support

Support Manager processes any escalated records that
could not be processed by 1st or 2nd Line Support

Projects

A default project called "Support"
is available in this template and is visible to all
user groups. This project can be customized
and additional projects can be added via the
Manage Projects
section.

Forms

A default form called "Ticket" is available in this
template, is associated with the "Support" Project
and is visible to all user groups.
This form can be customized and additional
forms can be added via the
Manage Forms
section.

Fields

The Ticket form contains the following fields. Note that
you can customize the database by adding to or removing
fields, or changing any pulldown menu values via the
Manage Fields section.
Field names
with an asterisk are required by the system and cannot
be removed from any form(s).

PRN*

Numeric record identifier. Assigned
at the time the record is created.

Title

A one line text summary of the
problem or request. Set at the time the record is created.

Product*

Identifies the product for which the
record has been reported. Set at the time the
record is created.

Platform

Describes the hardware or
software platform where the problem occurs. Examples
are the operating system (e.g. Windows 2000). Set at the time
the record is created.

Request Type

Classifies the record. Possible values are: Bug, Contract
Requirement, Customer Feedback, Customer
Problem, Enhancement. Set at the time the record
is created.

Severity

Describes how serious the
problem is. Set at the time the record is
created.

Description

Full description of the
problem. Ideally describes the nature of the
problem and how to reproduce the behavior.
Set at the time the record is created.

Reported By*

Name of the user that
reported the record. Initially set to the
name of the current user logged in. Set at
the time the record is created.

Date Reported

The date the record was
created. Automatically initialized, and set
at the time the record is created.

Workaround

Describes how to work
around the reported problem. Set at the time
the record is created.

Pending Issues

Describes what information or tasks are
needed before a record can continue to be processed.
Set by the Support Engineer if issues arise that keep the record
from being processed.

Status*

Current state of the
record. Changes as the record is
processed through the workflow.

Assigned To*

User the record is currently
assigned to for processing. Set either manually
or automatically during processing of the
workflow.

Est. Close Date

Date when the issue or request
is expected to be resolved. Set by the Support Engineer
when deciding how to process the record.

Priority

Describes the relative importance
of handling this record compared to other records
entered in the system.

Close Date

Date when the record
was closed. Set by Support when issue or request has
been resolved. Automatically
initialized to the current date/time.

Close Detail

Describes the details about how the
issue or request was resolved.
Set by the Support when the issue or request has been
resolved.

Deleted*

Denotes whether the record has been deleted.

Support Queues

The Home Page reports can be set up as
a queue for Support Engineers to use in
prioritizing and processing incoming
records. TBD will be the user to which incoming
records are assigned while they are in a queue.
To represent a queue for the 1st Line Support team on the
Home Page, the saved query 1st Line Support Queue [Support]
was created to
display all records assigned to TBD in the Reported
state. To repesent the queue for 2nd Line Support on
the Home Page, the saved query
2nd Line Support Queue [Support]
was created to display all
records assigned to TBD in the Escalated state.

Information on how records are processed within and outside of the
queue are discussed in the Workflow section below.

Workflows

It is assumed that records will be processed and moved through the workflow
process by using the Task operation. A default workflow called
"Support Ticket Process" is available
in this template and is associated with the "Ticket" Form and
is in use in the "Support" Project. You can customize the
Support Ticket Process
workflow or add additional workflows via the
Manage Workflows section.

State 1 - Reported
It is assumed that 1st Line Support Engineers check a queue
to pick up incoming records.
When a record is created, it is set to the state
Reported, and assigned to TBD (a placeholder user to represent
records that are in the queue and have not yet been assigned)
A 1st Line Support Engineer (sup_one)
selects incoming records from the queue and
decides how to process each using a list of possible workflow paths.
sup_one can choose one of the
following:

Begin processing a record by selecting the transition called
Start Processing Request. The Description field
is presented for reference. sup_one must enter an
Estimated Close Date and
can optionally set the Priority of the request. This transition
will assign the record to sup_one and
place the record in the In Process state.

Close the record by selecting the transition called Close.
The Description field
is presented for reference. This
transition will place the record in the Closed state and assign it to TBD
("no one" since this record will not be processed any further).
sup_one will be required to enter a reason
the record was closed in the Close Detail field. The Close Date will be updated
automatically.

Delay processing of the request by selecting the Hold Request
transition. The Description field is presented for reference.
sup_one is required to enter a reason for the
delay in the Pending Issues field and an Estimated Close Date. It is
optional to set the Priority for the record. This transition will place the
record in the On Hold state and will assign it to sup_one.

This is implemented by:

Workflow Properties

Defining Reported as the Default Add
State when a record is added

Assigning TBD as the manager for
the Reported state

Transitions

Defining a transition to move a record to the In Process and
On Hold states where the assignee is <LoginUser>
(the user performing the task operation).

Defining a transition to move a record to the Closed state
where the assignee is TBD.

Task Fields

Configuring Description (read only), Est. Close Date (required)
and Priority (optional) to be presented during
the task operation for the transition to the In Process state.

Configuring Description (read only), Close Detail (required) and Close Date (read only and initialized)
to be presented
during the task operation for the transition to the Closed state.

Configuring Description (read only), Pending Issues (required),
Est. Close Date (required)
and Priority (optional) to be presented during
the task operation for the transition to the On Hold state.

State 2 - In Process
The Support Engineer (sup_one) assigned to the record
attempts to resolve the issue or request, then chooses
one of the following transitions:

If the issue is resolved, sup_one
can close the issue by selecting the
transition Close. The Description field is
presented for reference. This
transition will place the record in the Closed state and
assign it to TBD ("no one" since this record will not be
processed any further). sup_one
will be required to enter a reason the record was closed
in the Close Detail field. The Close Date will be updated
automatically.

If the issue has not been resolved and sup_one
needs to escalate the issue to 2nd Line Support
for troubleshooting assistance, the
Escalate to 2nd Line
transition will be selected. The Description field is
presented for reference.
sup_one is required to enter the reason for
the escalation in the Pending Comments field. This will
place the record in the Escalated state, will assign it
to TBD, and place the record in the 2nd Line Support queue.

If the issue has not been resolved and sup_one
needs to escalate the issue to a manager
for troubleshooting assistance, the
Escalate to Manager
transition will be selected. The Description field is
presented for reference.
sup_one is required to enter the reason for
the escalation in the Pending Comments field. This will
place the record in the Escalated state, will assign it
to the Support Manager (sup_mgr).

If the issue cannot be processed until a later (e.g. because
more information is needed or there is some delay before
a task can be performed), sup_one can select
the Hold Request transition. The Description field is
presented for reference. sup_one is required to enter a reason for the
delay in the Pending Issues field and an Estimated Close Date. It is
optional to set the Priority for the record. This transition will place the
record in the On Hold state, but will still be assigned to the sup_one.

This is implemented by:

Workflow Properties

Defining Support Manager (sup_mgr)
as the manager for the Escalated state

Transitions

Defining a transition to move a record to the Closed state
where the assignee is TBD.

Defining a transition to move a record to the
Escalated state where the assignee is the manager of that state

Defining a transition to move a record to the
Escalated state where the assignee is TBD (placeholder for the
2nd Line Support queue)

Defining a transition to move a record to the On Hold state
where the assignee is <Same Assignee>.

Task Fields

Configuring Description (read only), Close Detail (required) and Close Date (read only and initialized)
to be presented
during the task operation for the transition to the Closed state.

Configuring Description (read only) and Pending Issues (required)
to be presented during the task operation for the transitions to
the Escalated state.

Configuring Description (read only), Pending Issues (required),
Est. Close Date (required)
and Priority (optional) to be presented during
the task operation for the transition to the On Hold state.

State 3 - On Hold
Processing was stopped for the records in this state. sup_one
can resume processing of a record using the Resume Processing
transition. The Description field will be provided for reference and
sup_one will have the option to update the Estimated
Close Date and Priority fields. This will place the record in the In Process
state and will remain assigned to sup_one.
sup_one can close the issue by using the Close
transition. The Description field is
presented for reference purposes. This
transition will place the record in the Closed state and
assign it to TBD ("no one" since this record will not be
processed any further). sup_one
will be required to enter a reason the record was closed
in the Close Detail field. The Close Date will be updated
automatically.

This is implemented by:

Transitions

Defining a transition to move a record to the
In Process state with New Assignee set to
<Same Assignee>

Defining a transition to move a record to the
Closed state and assigned to TBD

Task Fields

Configuring the Description (read only), Est. Close Date (optional), Priority (optional)
to be presented during the Task operation for the transition to the
In Process state.

Configuring the Description (read only), Close Date (read only, initialized),
and Close Detail (required) fields to be presented for the transition to the
Closed state.

State 4 - Escalated
2nd Line Support or the Support Manager decides how to proceed with the
issues that have been placed in the Escalated state:

The issue can be sent back to the sup_one
by using the De-escalate transition. The Description
field will be provided for reference. Comments to
aid sup_one to resolve the issue must be
entered into the Pending Issues field. Optionally, the Priority
of the record can be updated. This will place the record back
into the In Process state and assign it to sup_one,
who worked on the record when it was previously in that state.

The issue can be closed by using the Close
transition. The Description field is
presented for reference. This
transition will place the record in the Closed state and
assign it to TBD ("no one" since this record will not be
processed any further). The user (2nd Line Support or the Support
Manager)
will be required to enter a reason the record was closed
in the Close Detail field. The Close Date will be updated
automatically.

This is implemented by:

Transitions

Defining a transition to move a record to the
In Process state where the assignee is
<Last Assignee for New State>

Defining a transition to move a record
to the Closed state where the assignee is TBD

Task Fields

Configuring the Description (read only), Pending Issues (required), Priority (optional)
to be presented during the Task operation for the transition to the
In Process state.

Configuring the Description (read only), Close Date (read only, initialized),
and Close Detail (required) fields to be presented for the transition to the
Closed state.

State 5 - Closed
Processing on these records has been completed.

Sample Saved Charts

A set of sample saved charts are included in this template.
Click here
to see details of these sample metrics.

Email Notification

The Support template is set up to notify users as
follows:

On Add or Delete of a Record
The current assignee, the manager for
the current state, and the reporter of the record are notified

On Change of State to Inactive
The user who reported the record is notified when a record is moved to
a state where processing has stopped (any state included in the
Inactive state group: Closed or On Hold)

On Change of Assignment
Both the current assignee and the manager of
the current state of the record are notified

Security

The Support template assumes a very simple security
model reflecting a workgroup situation where all users are able
to see any record. This is implemented by setting
Enable Record Visibility option under General
Preferences in the Administration Task page to
No.

In addition, the privileges related to editing the field of the records have
been removed from users that are not managers or Admin.
With this configuration, users can rely on the Task operation to move records
through the workflow. This can be changed within the
User Administration section of the Admin page.